Wiser and finally healthy, Padres' Gerut cherishes return visit to Cleveland
Posted by dmanoloff@plaind.com June 13, 2008 20:41PM
Jody Gerut is a study in perseverance.
Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Padres outfielder Jody Gerut entered Friday night batting .274 with two homers and 10RBI in 35 games. At various times between an outstanding rookie year with the Indians in 2003 and last winter, he easily could have packed it in.

Instead, Gerut kept grinding, mostly through a lot of pain.

"As long as you have the willpower to still compete, and as long as you believe the body will come around, you're going to hold out as long as possible," he said. "I'm glad I did."

The payoff has come with the Padres. A non-roster invitee to spring training, Gerut was in the starting lineup Friday night for the opener of a three-game series against the Indians in Progressive Field. He played center field and batted ninth.

In 2003, Gerut batted .279 with 22 homers and 75 RBI in 127 games for the Tribe. The Sporting News named him its American League rookie of the year. Late in the 2004 season, he tore the ACL in his right knee while fielding a ball in Progressive Field. He had reconstructive surgery 10 days later.

Gerut, eager to show his dedication, returned to pro ball the following May with Class AAA Buffalo.

"I came back way too fast from an ACL tear," he said. "I should have taken 2005 off, but I was pig-headed and stupid about it."

Hindered by a brace, Gerut made his season's debut with the Indians in mid-May. He clearly was not the same player, though, and the brass wanted him to spend more time in the minors to regain mobility.

Gerut, by his own admission, essentially pouted.

"I had a bad attitude," he said.

After playing just 44 games with Cleveland in 2005, Gerut was traded to the Cubs for Jason DuBois.

"The trade basically was my fault," he said. "I thought I was good enough to be back, and the Indians didn't think so. They made an accurate assessment of my playing ability, they tried to tell me I wasn't moving right yet, but I didn't want to see it for what it was.

"I had a childish response to a fall from grace. I didn't do things in a mature way."

Gerut played 11 games for the Cubs before being shipped to Pittsburgh in a trade deadline deal. He was a Pirate briefly, his last major-league action for quite a while.

In the spring of 2006, Pittsburgh optioned Gerut to Class AAA but he refused to report. The Pirates placed him on the restricted list.

The feud stemmed from a disagreement he had with the Pirates over the health of his right knee, which had flared up the previous August and forced him to the disabled list.

"The Pirates thought it was tendinitis, but I knew it was a lot worse than tendinitis," he said. "They thought I refused to report because I was milking the injury and was upset about not being in the big leagues. I didn't report because if I went to Triple-A, I would have had to play every day, and if I had to play every day, my career would have been over."

Gerut, who had threatened through the players' union to file a grievance, underwent surgery May 31. As it turned out, he was correct. He had a torn patella tendon.

"It tore and reattached itself to another part of the knee in order to deal with the stress I was putting it through," Gerut said. "It was related to the ACL tear. The doctor had never seen anything like it."

The Pirates released Gerut in March 2007. At that point, he became a baseball nowhere man. He spent the year rehabbing in Florida.

A huge break came when Caribes de Anzoategui of the Venezuelan Winter League decided to squeeze him onto its roster. No other teams in any of the winter leagues was interested.

Gerut batted .390 in 40 games. MLB scouts took notice. With multiple teams from which to choose, Gerut opted for San Diego, partly on the recommendation of former Indian Josh Bard.

Gerut entered Friday night batting .274 with two homers and 10 RBI in 35 games.